OSCAR Wilde once wrote in a play, “The youth of America is their oldest tradition. It has been going on now for 300 years.” Wry humour aside, it is a truth that the “youth” are an important cultural backbone, a tradition in the contradictory sense of the “youth” being an old concept, but a concept that nonetheless spearheads the most current of factions, movements, and artistic development. The youth will always be the ones to decide what makes it into the hallowed halls of pop culture. The youth will always dictate how far we go in terms of pushing and sometimes dismantling and destroying, the boundaries of established art, whether it is literature, theatre, moviemaking, visual arts or any of the other forms. The youth are the visionaries who lead us into the future, only to often forget and relinquish their power as the torch of strength and influence is wrested from them by a new generation of youths. But the cycle has its merits and, contrary to the arguments often put forward, I believe that we always gain more than we lose with the rise of each new generation of young people.

For these reasons, I always listen to young people – particularly ‘Generation Z’, and not so much the Millennials who are well into adulthood and are passing the torch of youth onto ‘Gen Z’. I take their suggestions when it comes to music and movies and books. Sometimes, we are not able to see eye to eye. For example, I think Tekashi69 is a disaster. Then there are other times when they make me like the same things they do. For example, I overheard a group of ‘Gen Z’ students talking about Netflix’s teen rom-com, “To All the Boys I’ve loved Before,” so naturally I ended up watching it and I truly enjoyed it, especially because it reminded me so much of the high school rom-coms I discussed with my own friends back in the early and mid-2000s.

“To All the Boys I’ve loved Before,” is based on the novel of the same name by Jenny Han, with a screenplay by Sofia Alvarez, and directed by Susan Johnson. Much power to all of the women behind this adorable, warm, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, romantic comedy. The film tells the story of Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), a half-Korean, half-Caucasian high school girl who, while growing up, writes secret love letters to each boy she has ever had a crush on. One day, her letters found their way to all of the individual boys, including Lucas (Trezzo Mahoro), who we find out is actually gay; Peter (Noah Centineo), the boyfriend of Lara Jean’s archrival; and Josh (Israel Broussard), the ex-boyfriend of Lara Jean’s older sister, Margot. Although things do get complicated in the plot of the story, things are never too complicated for the audience to follow. Before long, after the dispersion of the letters, “To All the Boys I’ve loved Before” settles down to become a gem of a film, filled with all the passion and nuances of the up-and-down romances and feelings of high school life, while also imparting some crucial contemporary commentary on slut-shaming and gender expectations all while showcasing a tender romance built for the Generation Z crowd.
The film does make me think about those high school rom-coms that were popular back in my day – “Mean Girls,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “13 Going on 30,” “A Walk to Remember,” “The Princess Diaries,” “She’s the Man,” “The Girl Next Door,” and so many others. “To All the Boys I’ve loved Before” showed me how the current high school students might have expectations and experiences that are different from those me and friends had when we were in high school, while also highlighting that even with the differences there still remains some astounding similarities.

Regarding the differences, the major one has to be that Lara Jean is not some dorky, awkward, nerdy, bespectacled girl that crushes on the central jock in school – a trope of the high school rom-com heroine which I am glad to see die away. On the contrary, Lara Jean is a sharp, well-dressed, well-spoken young lady who comes across as patient, caring, kind, and shy. Yet, she is not the girl next door, nor is she a total geek, nor is she friendless and alone or incapable of making friends. Lara Jean is, in fact, a perfectly normal young woman – and perhaps it is this rendition of our protagonist that makes it so easy for us to both empathise with and fall in love with her. It also helps tremendously that Lana Condor turns in a super performance, nuanced and beguiling and emotional all at the same time. I’m excited to see her in next year’s comic book adaptation of “Dark Classes,” where she plays a teenage assassin.

On the flipside, there are many character tropes that do return, but they have been subtly altered in some way so as to make them fresh and new. As an example, Lara Jean’s arch-nemesis, Gen (Emilija Baranac), wears a silky sneer and confidence as if were a shawl draped easily across her shoulders, but in the film’s climax we believe her when she says that she did not do the terrible thing Lara Jean accuses her of doing, despite Gen admitting that she was glad it happened. By not making the most obvious choice to be the reason for the heroine’s almost-downfall, the filmmakers step out of the realm of the cliché.

Truthfully, watching “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” was a nice experience simply because it reminded me of my high school years and the movies and friends of that time. I reflected and I decided that most of my high school friends would have liked the movie as much as I did. My friend Stephanie would have complimented the lead character’s unique fashion choices and even though she wouldn’t have said it back then, she’d definitely recognise how talented and good-looking all the male leads were. My other friend, Kereene, would have probably hummed the soundtrack for days, simply because it was pretty good with some really decent songs. I think Navina would have identified with the oddball rebel that is Christine – Lara Jean’s best friend – and she might have sketched a scene from the movie. My last friend Simeon would have pretended to hate a romantic comedy, but I know that deep down he would have secretly enjoyed it. As for me, I know that 16-year-old me would have enjoyed the ending of the film, with its confrontations and broken hearts and tears and kisses and a happy ending.